Nitrile-converting enzymes NHases

Nitrile hydratases (NHases) catalyze the hydration of organic nitriles to amides under very benign reaction conditions (neutral aqueous environment and room temperature) and therefore offer a chemoselective alternative to classical approaches, where functional group compatibility is often limited due to the harsh acidic or basic solutions used [1], Starting with their application in acrylamide production [2,3], this enzyme class is one of the most prominent in industrial processes with respect to production volume (>3 X 10 kg/a for acrylonitrile hydration) [4]. Hence, Lonza (Switzerland) uses a nitrile hydratase to convert 3-cyanopyridine into nicotinamide (6 X 10 tons/year). Very recently, a one-pot industrial protocol for the synthesis of a chiral intermediate for dlastatin was published that employed a nitrile hydratease/amidase approach [5],... 

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